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Jewel-encrusted Atari XL?


Savetz

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My dictionary link said "fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners"

 

My bad then. But phobia means a fear of something. It's hard to have a true phobia without a fear. Anyway, you STILL have not addressed my point about caring about the people "down the road", my dislike of the same kind of behavior other places (including where I reside), and the specific clarification that it was about extreme wealth and contrasting poor. If I were actually fearful of, OR hateful of the people in the middle east, BECAUSE they are from the middle east, I wouldn't give two worn out pennies for the poor sods down the road either, and that indeed would be racist or xenophobic. And I would have said nothing at all. The idea that some people are so wealthy that they have to find things to do with it like put rare gems all over an XL computer bothers me a little. When it is in a part of the world where the poor are so poor that many don't even have good access to sanitation it bothers me more so. I'll say it once more, so you can hopefully, and finally, get it through your thickness: I do not care for the grossly wealthy who flaunt it, when they are surrounded by others in abject poverty, especially if people there are born wealthy or poor, no matter where they might live. The only reason I guessed the middle east, is because adorning everyday objects, even technology objects with rare gems is a more common practice by the extremely rich in that region. If it were a 175 foot yacht, I would have guessed somewhere other than the middle east.

 

I stand by my assertion that by attributing a negative connotation to a person you identify geographically is racist.

 

But that's not what I did. You fail to comprehend. The negative connotation I attributed to anyone, anywhere that could flaunt that kind of wealth surrounded by so many who suffer under very hard lives. What I actually attributed to the geographic region, was the particular practice of adorning such things with rare gems. If you want to think that type of thing is exactly the same popularity all over the world, then be my guest. But I'm going to go with a more accurate view. Sure, it isn't unique to that region. It's just more popular there than many other places.

 

You could have said "Let me guess, it belonged to someone who was born into opulence, while the people down the road couldn't afford to have running water?" But instead you invoked a cheap stereotype "someone in the Middle East" implying that the their ethnicity was important in your statement.

 

But I wouldn't believe that those down the road might not have running water if the wealthy party lived in the United States for example. With very very rare exception, everyone in the U.S. has access to water and indoor plumbing. The same cannot be said for many people living in the middle east. That's not cheap stereo typing, that's cold reality my friend. That doesn't mean people in the U.S. are better or anything silly like that. It simply means the poor in the U.S. are not as abused as the poor in some places. I'm still trying to figure out where I should shop for a more "expensive" stereo type. :)

 

You can call me a bully (I dunno know why, I'm just telling you how your post made me feel) - but I stand by my assertion - and I might add I am free to do so - that your post offended ME for those reasons.

 

When someone attacks my character based on what I posted by accusing me of being a xenophobe or racist (when I'm not), and threatens to "report" me, I consider that a form of bullying. When someone thinks that any kind of attribution of something negative to the middle east automatically must be a "cheap" stereo type, then it creates an environment where speech making such an attribution is condemned, untolerated and not given consideration. That kind of environment I consider the cancer of "political correctness." If someone tells me there was a rollover crash and someone died, I might say "let me guess, the seatbelt was not on." Can someone die in a rollover if they did have a belt on? You bet they can. Can someone who isn't wearing a belt survive a roll over? Also yes. Is it stereotypical to think there is a higher likelihood that a fatality resulted from no belt? Yep again, it is. But... it's not wrong to recognize reality and odds. I don't know if it is still true, but in the U.S. did you know that auto insurance is more expensive for young males than females? Cheaper for those with good grades than poor ones? That's stereo typing. If insurance companies couldn't stereo type and had to be sensitive to peoples feelings, egos, or sense of what is or isn't okay to talk about, they might well go bust.

 

If you still don't get it, that's fine. Just don't accuse me of being a racist or xenophobe. Let's move on.

Edited by fujidude
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Who would like an update from the jewelry artist, Sidney Mobell? I bet you would.

 

I just got an email back from him.

 

"Hi Kevin, It has been a long time since I designed and made this one of a kind Atari jeweled encrusted jeweled art creation. It was purchased from a person in the "Far East" and I do not have a record of the date it was purchased in my "Fairmont Hotel" Jewelry Store. I believe the price at that time was $250,000.00.

I do have a good photo of this beautiful jeweled art creation. I was granted the right by Atari to do this and they did the Publicity on it."

 

I have asked him for a scan of his photo (it'll be better resolution than the little magazine pic) but he's on a trip right now, so if he does it, it won't be for a while.

 

He also made a $2 million gold/jeweled Monopoly set, commissioned in 1988 for the World Monopoly Tournament in London. It is now on Exhibit at The Museum of American Finance.

 

—Kevin

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Very cool. I personally look forward to seeing scanned images of both. That Monopoly set has a timeless appeal that a 1200XL will never quite reach, unfortunately.

 

It's still awesome that both exist as relics of the 1980's. I wonder where that 1200XL is now and if it's still functional? Kevin, thanks for making an inquiry and sharing results here!

 

Also, you might warn Sidney Mobell that it is no longer politically correct to acknowledge or verify extravagant purchases that may have been made in the far east, middle east, or anywhere east for that matter. God forbid any imbalance of wealth is exposed in eastern countries and someone is offended!

 

Do the above statements make me a bigot, or are they simply facts? :D

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  • 4 years later...

Me too....Way too serious for my liking but a classic read...

 

Nice to hear it did sell and to a place probably with running water as well...Bonus!!

 

I'm from an estate where running water is what they call the bloke stealing a bottle of Evian from the corner shop!

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